Intrinsic motivation is the motivation to do something out of sheer interest in an activity itself.
When students are intrinsically motivated, they find their studies more enjoyable.
Their learning is deeper and longer lasting.
When confronted with an open-ended task, they are more likely to come up with a creative idea or a creative solution.
When students approach a school assignment with extrinsic motivation, they are engaging in that activity for some goal outside of the task — a promised reward, an impending evaluation, etc.
Extrinsic motivation can ensure that work gets done and that it gets done on time, it is especially detrimental to creativity.
Paying students to attend school or to earn high grades is neither inherently good nor inherently bad.( according to Beth Hennessey, Wellesley College)
Only then can we (the teachers) work to help them slowly regain their intrinsic motivation and excitement about learning.
Research investigations show that for this group, the expectation of a reward is bound to kill both their creativity and their excitement about learning.
Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation